Upper Valley CRAFT

Upper Valley CRAFT

The Upper Valley CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training) is an educational and a social opportunity for farm staff considering a farming career.

Upper Valley farms collaborate to offer this educational opportunity for their farm apprentices, interns, and staff. Participating farms and their staff form a group of teachers and learners, meeting together twice monthly through the summer season at each others’ farms to have a tour and an instructional talk given by the host farmer. Participants experience a diversity of successful farm models, learn about a variety of agricultural topics, and get to know their peers and area farm owners.

We are in our 6th year of Upper Valley CRAFT in 2017, with 9 participating farms and 21 workers attending the tours. Topics include crop planning, production techniques, and season extension. Most of the staff intend to have farming careers. CRAFT strengthens capacity, community, and collaboration among the awesome farms of the Upper Valley.

Participation in CRAFT starts with the farmer choosing to join the program. Because an integral part of the program is the reciprocal tours and talks, staff must be working on a CRAFT farm to attend the tours. That said, UV CRAFT is open to all farms in our region and every year we welcome new farms to the schedule. Do you have a farm, with staff who can benefit from on-farm learning? Contact us and let’s start collaborating!

Workplace Markets

Farm to School Network

Join our
Farmer
Discussion

The Upper Valley Farmer Community Discussion List is a forum to share items of interest to farmers in the Upper Valley. Valley Food & Farm will post information about upcoming events, agency of agriculture bulletins, market opportunities, and other items that will be useful to farmers in our region. We encourage subscribers to share knowledge, questions, items for sale, with the goal of facilitating communication within our farming community. You can subscribe here.Subscribers can post a message to this list by simply emailing a message touvfarming@lists.vitalcommunities.org

.

Want more information?

Calendar

February2018

Vital Communities Program News

Registration is open for the 17th annual Flavors of the Valley, the Upper Valley’s premier local food tasting expo. With 50+ vendors and more than 800 attendees, Flavors is a valuable marketing opportunity for farms and food businesses looking ...more

Locally owned businesses strengthen our community in many ways including job creation, tax dollars, charitable giving, economic vitality, responsive customer service, and community character. Local First Alliance business owners live in our communities and are our friends ...more

Re-making our transportation system will shift us toward better, cleaner, and more equitable living.
Imagine useful, affordable, and accessible village centers and downtowns with a variety of services, housing, and jobs. Where many people of ...more

We are excited to be celebrating the hot, new eatery in White River Junction
as Local First Alliance
Business of the Month in January!
Visit Trail Break taps + tacos January 11-25, give them a high five for being ...more

Celebrate the hot, new eatery in White River Junction
as Local First Alliance
Business of the Month in January!
Visit Trail Break taps + tacos January 11-25, give them a high five for being the BOM, and get a free chips ...more

Weatherize Round Two kicks off this month across the Upper Valley region.
What is Weatherize?
Vital Communities partners community volunteer teams with local contractors to help Weatherize participants complete cost-effective home energy improvements. These upgrades save residents money on ...more

Every year, all completed Super Quests are entered into a grand prize drawing. The winner/winning team is picked at the annual Vital Communities Open House in White River Junction. At the event this past Friday, ...more

This summer, Vital Communities launched a special Valley Quest initiative known as the Watershed Quest Challenge. Through this fun, educational contest, we challenged individuals and teams (including school classes) to write a Valley Quest about any river, stream, pond, ...more

​Working together to empower home buyers and sellers throughout the Upper Valley to understand home energy costs and invest in energy efficiency.
Over 50 real estate professionals from across the Upper Valley will gather on January ...more

Local First Alliance is proud to represent so many members that make our economy strong. Retail stores are the businesses that many people think of when "shopping locally first", but the professional services-including accounting, insurance, and ...more

This fall, Vital Communities' Transportation Program collaborated with Go! Vermont to develop a one-page guide to transportation in the Upper Valley, with a focus on the Vermont side.
This new resource allows you to see what transportation options you ...more

Not sure when and where to catch Advance Transit or if the bus is on time? Download the Advance Transit Real Time App or check the Where’s My Bus? function on AdvanceTransit.com.
It Works!
Read our blog ...more

Vital Communities celebrated its Leadership Upper Valley Class of 2017 on June 14, in a commencement ceremony at Harpoon Brewery. Thirty of the region’s emerging local leaders graduated from the 10-month professional and personal development ...more

Thank you all for joining us to celebrate the young leaders who are being honored tonight, and thank you to Vital Communities for recognizing their important contributions to our community. It is so important to ...more

Merritt Patridge
Merritt Patridge joined the Tuck School of Business in 2015, where she serves as Executive Director of the Center for Business, Government & Society. Prior to Tuck, Merritt worked at The Dartmouth Center ...more

Greatest Hits

Photo Gallery

Staff

Becka Warren

Food & Farm

— Becka Warren, Valley Food & Farm Communications Coordinator

Part of Vital Communities' Valley Food & Farm team since 2012, Becka fosters relationships that keep agriculture a daily part of community life in the Upper Valley. She works with current and future farmers, businesses, schools, and partners across Vermont and New Hampshire to build connections that support farm viability and keep our landscapes working. Becka lived in Seattle for many years, where she worked for the Washington State University Small Farms Program, Cascade Harvest Coalition, Seattle Tilth, and area vegetable farms. Becka is also a writer, founding and writing Ask Umbra at gristmagazine.com until 2009. She holds a BA from Brown University and lives in Hartland, Vermont, with her family.

Beth Roy

Food & Farm

— Beth Roy, Valley Food & Farm Manager

Before joining Vital Communities, Beth Roy worked in the environmental and place-based education fields for 17 years in various positions around New England including at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and as the Director of Education at the Nature Museum in Grafton, Vt. Beth is also on the boards of the Vermont Science Teacher Association (VSTA) and the Vermont State-Wide Environmental Education Programs (SWEEP), a coalition of dozens of individuals and organizations promoting sustainability and environmental education in Vermont. Beth is a New Hampshire native and lives in Hartland, Vt., with her husband and two children. When Beth is not working you will find her exploring the woods around her home with her family or cooking up a new taste test (made of local foods, of course!) for her children.

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

Lauren Griswold joined Vital Communities in May 2017 to coordinate Power of Produce (POP) clubs at Upper Valley farmers' markets and farmstands. In August 2017 she became our Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, in addition to her role as the Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant. Lauren grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Vermont in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies. Her passion for sustainable agriculture took her out West, where she served as a garden educator in Bend, Oregon. After an enriching chapter in the high desert, Lauren is thrilled to be back in central Vermont. She is passionate about the rich communities and natural beauty of the Upper Valley, and enjoys engaging the next generation with wonder and enthusiasm about this special place. In her free time, Lauren can be found mountain biking, cross country skiing, gardening, knitting, and savoring meals with friends and family.

Workplace Markets

Farm to School Network

Join our
Farmer
Discussion

The Upper Valley Farmer Community Discussion List is a forum to share items of interest to farmers in the Upper Valley. Valley Food & Farm will post information about upcoming events, agency of agriculture bulletins, market opportunities, and other items that will be useful to farmers in our region. We encourage subscribers to share knowledge, questions, items for sale, with the goal of facilitating communication within our farming community. You can subscribe here.Subscribers can post a message to this list by simply emailing a message touvfarming@lists.vitalcommunities.org

.

Want more information?

Calendar

February2018

Vital Communities Program News

Registration is open for the 17th annual Flavors of the Valley, the Upper Valley’s premier local food tasting expo. With 50+ vendors and more than 800 attendees, Flavors is a valuable marketing opportunity for farms and food businesses looking ...more

Locally owned businesses strengthen our community in many ways including job creation, tax dollars, charitable giving, economic vitality, responsive customer service, and community character. Local First Alliance business owners live in our communities and are our friends ...more

Re-making our transportation system will shift us toward better, cleaner, and more equitable living.
Imagine useful, affordable, and accessible village centers and downtowns with a variety of services, housing, and jobs. Where many people of ...more

We are excited to be celebrating the hot, new eatery in White River Junction
as Local First Alliance
Business of the Month in January!
Visit Trail Break taps + tacos January 11-25, give them a high five for being ...more

Celebrate the hot, new eatery in White River Junction
as Local First Alliance
Business of the Month in January!
Visit Trail Break taps + tacos January 11-25, give them a high five for being the BOM, and get a free chips ...more

Weatherize Round Two kicks off this month across the Upper Valley region.
What is Weatherize?
Vital Communities partners community volunteer teams with local contractors to help Weatherize participants complete cost-effective home energy improvements. These upgrades save residents money on ...more

Every year, all completed Super Quests are entered into a grand prize drawing. The winner/winning team is picked at the annual Vital Communities Open House in White River Junction. At the event this past Friday, ...more

This summer, Vital Communities launched a special Valley Quest initiative known as the Watershed Quest Challenge. Through this fun, educational contest, we challenged individuals and teams (including school classes) to write a Valley Quest about any river, stream, pond, ...more

​Working together to empower home buyers and sellers throughout the Upper Valley to understand home energy costs and invest in energy efficiency.
Over 50 real estate professionals from across the Upper Valley will gather on January ...more

Local First Alliance is proud to represent so many members that make our economy strong. Retail stores are the businesses that many people think of when "shopping locally first", but the professional services-including accounting, insurance, and ...more

This fall, Vital Communities' Transportation Program collaborated with Go! Vermont to develop a one-page guide to transportation in the Upper Valley, with a focus on the Vermont side.
This new resource allows you to see what transportation options you ...more

Not sure when and where to catch Advance Transit or if the bus is on time? Download the Advance Transit Real Time App or check the Where’s My Bus? function on AdvanceTransit.com.
It Works!
Read our blog ...more

Vital Communities celebrated its Leadership Upper Valley Class of 2017 on June 14, in a commencement ceremony at Harpoon Brewery. Thirty of the region’s emerging local leaders graduated from the 10-month professional and personal development ...more

Thank you all for joining us to celebrate the young leaders who are being honored tonight, and thank you to Vital Communities for recognizing their important contributions to our community. It is so important to ...more

Merritt Patridge
Merritt Patridge joined the Tuck School of Business in 2015, where she serves as Executive Director of the Center for Business, Government & Society. Prior to Tuck, Merritt worked at The Dartmouth Center ...more

Greatest Hits

Photo Gallery

Staff

Becka Warren

Food & Farm

— Becka Warren, Valley Food & Farm Communications Coordinator

Part of Vital Communities' Valley Food & Farm team since 2012, Becka fosters relationships that keep agriculture a daily part of community life in the Upper Valley. She works with current and future farmers, businesses, schools, and partners across Vermont and New Hampshire to build connections that support farm viability and keep our landscapes working. Becka lived in Seattle for many years, where she worked for the Washington State University Small Farms Program, Cascade Harvest Coalition, Seattle Tilth, and area vegetable farms. Becka is also a writer, founding and writing Ask Umbra at gristmagazine.com until 2009. She holds a BA from Brown University and lives in Hartland, Vermont, with her family.

Beth Roy

Food & Farm

— Beth Roy, Valley Food & Farm Manager

Before joining Vital Communities, Beth Roy worked in the environmental and place-based education fields for 17 years in various positions around New England including at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and as the Director of Education at the Nature Museum in Grafton, Vt. Beth is also on the boards of the Vermont Science Teacher Association (VSTA) and the Vermont State-Wide Environmental Education Programs (SWEEP), a coalition of dozens of individuals and organizations promoting sustainability and environmental education in Vermont. Beth is a New Hampshire native and lives in Hartland, Vt., with her husband and two children. When Beth is not working you will find her exploring the woods around her home with her family or cooking up a new taste test (made of local foods, of course!) for her children.

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

Lauren Griswold joined Vital Communities in May 2017 to coordinate Power of Produce (POP) clubs at Upper Valley farmers' markets and farmstands. In August 2017 she became our Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, in addition to her role as the Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant. Lauren grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Vermont in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies. Her passion for sustainable agriculture took her out West, where she served as a garden educator in Bend, Oregon. After an enriching chapter in the high desert, Lauren is thrilled to be back in central Vermont. She is passionate about the rich communities and natural beauty of the Upper Valley, and enjoys engaging the next generation with wonder and enthusiasm about this special place. In her free time, Lauren can be found mountain biking, cross country skiing, gardening, knitting, and savoring meals with friends and family.

VITAL COMMUNITIES

Valley Food & Farm is a program of Vital Communities. Vital Communities’ work is at the heart of a vibrant Upper Valley region. We bring citizens, organizations, and municipalities together to address issues where an independent voice and regional approach are essential. Learn more about our other programs.